Just A Kid
by kittyfitz01
Summary: Araile is a demon who is living with the Copy Ninja, Hatake Kakashi. She has many friends, and some enemies; one being of her own kin. How will she deal with life?
1. Chapter 1

While you were following Kakashi and his team, your sensitive ears picked up a series of whimpers and whines coming from a nearby bush. Your gaze flickered towards Kakashi, and once you saw that he was busy with his new team, you silently moved towards the bush.

Moving aside some branches, you saw a dog-like creature with black fur and a long tail. The animal had pointed ears doning it's sleek head, and gray eyes stared at you while its long tail twitched. You noticed that in the center of the creatures forehead was a medium sized red jewel that sparkled in the afternoon. You blinked in surprise as the creature crept towards you, limping badly. A small trickle of dark red blood trailed after the creature as it made its way to you; its ears never ceasing in moving back and forth.

"Aw, poor thing" you murmured sadly.

Your tail twitched in curiosity as you untied a rope that was wrapped around the animals leg, setting it free.

"Go!" you said as you shooed it away.

The creature twitched its ear and with barely a twitch of its tail took off. Smiling, you gave yourself a mental pat on the back and started your way back to Kakashi and stalking his new team.

Suddenly, the world went dark as something was forced over your head. An unkown weight pulled your small body towards the ground, causing a shriek to sound from your mouth. Your first instinct was to struggle, and struggle you did.

Unfortunately, that made breathing a problem. Finally after what seemed like an hour of struggling, you managed to get the thing off your head. Your ear twitched as you heard footsteps coming towards you, causing you to look up.

Two ninjas stood behind you, smiling.

"Well, it looks like we caught two treasures that we can bring back to the Boss" one of them said as they took out their shuriken.

You hissed low as you laid your ears flat against your head. Suddenly, you lept on one of the ninjas and pulled his headband over his eyes. Jumping high, you landed onto the other ninja and did the same thing. As soon as you landed, you pushed the two ninja together, making them fall over in a mess of limbs.

Giggling, you watched as the two ninjas struggled to untangle themselves before darting away in the opposite direction.  
Suddenly you felt someone pull your tail, making you fall over. Looking behind you, you saw that one of the ninjas finally recovered and now had a death-grip on your tail. You snarled as pain shot through your tailbone and up your spine.

Seeing your pain, the ninja smirked. You swatted at him with your claws, making the ninja release your poor tail. You hissed again as you backed away into the shadows of the trees.

Both ninjas appeared in front of you, blocking any ways of escape. A deep growl rumbled through your chest as you beared your teeth, backing away until your back was against the rough bark of a tree.

"Uh oh, I think we made her mad" one of them snickered.

They both laughed and suddenly lunged at you. You started running as fast as you could between the trees, but the branches hindered and slowed you down. Your ear twitched as you heard the ninjas laughing as they chased you. Branches continuously scratched your face as you ran, speeding up once you saw a break in the foliage.

You suddenly skidded to a stop. The path ended in a sheer drop-off to a forest below you. You could see the pine trees and thorns as you looked down from the edge of the 50 foot cliff.

"No where to run now, kitty cat" one of the ninja laughed loudly as they advanced towards you.

As they took a step towards you, you took in turn two steps back.


	2. Chapter 2

Araile's heel slipped little by little off the edge as the two ninjas stalked closer. She regained her balance as one ninja threw a kunai knife, while the other threw some shurikan. As the weapons flew towards Araile, she suddenly had a flash back of herself as a 6 year old.

_On the stairs leading to the front door, Kakashi was showing Araile the different types of weapons that ninjas used. _

_"What's this?" Araile asked as she picked up some sort of knife; her tail twitching in curiosity. _

_"Kunai knife" Kakashi answered as he took it from her. _

_"Be careful, Araile. It's sharp" Kakashi warned, putting his hand over hers._

_Araile look at him with her big golden eyes, causing Kakashi to smile at the child and ruffled her hair. Suddenly, somebody came over to Araile and Kakashi. _

_"Oh, Iruka-san. What do you want?" Kakashi asked, now standing as Araile clutched Kakashi's pant leg while staring at the stranger. _

_"The Hokage wants to see you right now" Iruka said as he climbed the stairs, and Kakashi nodded. _

_When Iruka left, Kakashi bent down to look at Araile, who kept a tight grip on his pant leg. _

_"Araile, I have to go. But I'll be back very soon" Kakashi added when he saw her sad face. _

_Araile nodded sadly, and Kakashi smiled then reached out and ruffled her hair once again. Kakashi got up and walked down the stairs and started down the street. Araile stared at his back as he went around the corner, and then let out a small sigh._

_**~An hour later~**_

_"Bored, bored, bored" Araile sang to herself as she laid on top of the small bed in her small bedroom. _

_She rested her head against the pillow and closed her eyes, listening to the sound of the birds chirping outside. A minute later, Araile's tail twitched and her mind began buzzing with ideas. _

_"Great, now I can't even sleep" she muttered as she got up._

_Walking out of her room, she wandered around the small house and opened the front door. A shiny object suddenly caught her attention, and Araile stared at the object, trying to figure out what it was. She walked over to the object and picked it up, turning it over in her hand. _

_"Hey! It's the knife thingy Kakashi was showing me earlier!" Araile said excitedly._

_In the girl's excitement, her wrist twitched and the blade to cut deep into her hand. Araile cried out in pain as blood dripped from her hand to the floor. Araile dropped the bloodstained weapon, and it landed with a dull _'thunk'_. _

_"Oh no! Kakashi told me to be careful and now look what I did!" Araile whimpered as she held back tears; her hand throbbed with pain. _

_"I gotta get rid of this" Araile muttered as she looked around desperately, running back into the house and into her bedroom. _

_Thankfully, she found a small corner underneath her bed that was covered in darkness. She carefully moved the kunai knife in the corner, where it would hopefully remain hidden. Araile panted lightly, tired from the whole ordeal when a noise caught her attention. Her ears twitched as she heard someone coming up the stairs and turning the knob in the front door. _

_"Uh oh, Kakashi's back" Araile whined. _

_She flung herself the bed just as the door to her bedroom opened. She blinked as the figure appeared upside down, and Araile realized that she were laying on her back, making everything seem like it was upside down. _

_"I'm back" a familiar voice spoke. _

_Araile sat up and pretended to yawn, making it as if she were asleep and opened her gold eyes wide. _

_"Yay! Kakashi's back! Kakashi's back!" she shouted loudly and jumped on him. _

_Kakashi smiled and put the small girl down, then walked to another side of the house with Araile following closely behind._

_Out of nowhere, Kakashi picked the small girl up. _

_'Uh oh! Kakashi is going to see my hand!' Araile thought to herself. _

_Araile squirmed and tried to get down, but Kakashi had a firm grip on her. Kakashi took a firm hold of her hand and turned it over, exposing the dried blood. Araile had forgotten to clean her hand._

_"What happened here?" he said, making Araile's ear to twitch as she looked away. _

_"Nothing" Araile muttered, and flinched as Kakashi gently touched the wound. _

_Kakashi brought her over to his bedroom and sat her on it while he rummaged around for something. _

_"Ah, here it is" Kakashi exclaimed as he walked over to Araile, sitting on the bed beside her._

_Kakashi then took her hand in his and began applying some sort of white cream on the wound. Her eyes widened, and a small cry escaped her lips as Araile's hand started to burn and tingle. She snarled as she tried to pull back her hand from Kakashi._

_Kakashi held her hand in his with a steady grip, not letting go. Tears ran down Araile's face as the pain finally subdued, leaving her shaking like a leaf. _

_"I know it hurts, but it will help your hand" Kakashi said as he put some bandages around the trembling girl's hand. _

_Araile nodded and shakily wiped away her tears, a small smile over the child's face. _

_"There now, all better" Kakashi exclaimed as he stood up._

_Araile inspected her hand and smiled; the pain was gone and all that was left was a tingling sensation._


	3. Chapter 3

A crow called nearby as Araile snapped out of her flashback. A rock detached itself as Araile continued to back away.

"Come on, kitty. We want to play with you" one ninja said.

Both of them threw their shurikan at the same time. Araile instinctively threw her arms up to cover her head just as the piece of rock she was standing on began to crumble. Letting out a shriek, Araile felt herself falling.

The cliff arched downwards as she began to tumble down the slope, gaining speed and running into rocks and branches. Closing her eyes, Araile began to pray that she'd stop as the rocks cut into her back. Finally, a big pine tree stopped her fall and she laid there, stunned as the two ninjas looked down at her from above. They laughed and then disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Araile shook her head as she stood up, trying to clear her vision and dislodging any loose leaves and twigs from her hair. Getting up, she finally began to walk in the direction that she thought Kakashi and his team were, bumping into trees and bushes along the way as the sky began to darken. All she could hear was her stomach's ever constant growling as Araile continued walking. A sudden noise caused the exhausted girl to stop suddenly, ears twitching back and forth.

She could hear some people talking faintly in the distance. Slowly Araile crept towards the sound, thinking it might be the two ninjas from earlier. The trees parted, showing a single fire and 4 people huddled around it for warmth and Araile's eyes widened as her gaze landed on the tallest one; a smile creeping across her face. She remembered that Kakashi told her multiple times and silently made her way towards a grove of trees to hide.

She found a big tree with a hole at the bottom, just the perfect size for a girl Araile's size. A sudden urge took a hold of her mind and she put her hands on the tree trunk, digging her nails into the tree bark and clawing away the bark in a jagged crisscross. Araile's eyes widened in surprise as she stared at what she had done, but shrugged it off as exhaustion began to make its presence known. Her eyelids became heavy as a yawn escaped from her mouth and she crawled into the small hole, finding enough room for her small body to fit.

"Perfect fit" Araile mumbled as she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

The next day, Team 7 woke to find the sun shinning and the birds chirping. Naruto, as usual, was the last one to wake up.

"Hey Kakashi-sensei, what's that?" Naruto asked as he pointed to a tree that was a little ways away from their campsite causing Sasuke to look up from his food.

"It's probably some wild animal" Sakura said as she sat beside Sasuke.

"W-wild a-animal? W-what kind of wild animal?" Naruto said, now obviously scared.

Kakashi got up and walked over to where Naruto was. His eye widened in surprise as he looked at the jagged marks that were clawed into the bark of the tree.

"Hey! There's a hole under the tree! Maybe something's under there, like maybe treasure!" Naruto shouted, excited while he bent down and reached in the hole.

"Naruto, I wouldn't do that if I-" Kakashi started to say, but was cut off by Naruto crying out.

"AAAAHHHHH! Something's in there!" Naruto cried out as he held his now scratched hand as Kakashi stared into the darkness of the hole.

"It's probably a rabbit or squirrel" Sakura said, shrugging her shoulders.

"No, its not any of those" Kakashi said as he continued to stare into the darkness as a pair of golden eyes stared back.

"Ok, whatever is in there is going down! Believe it!" Naruto said as he ran at the tree, intending fully to get at what had scratched him.

Suddenly, a dark shape jumped on Naruto; the force of the impact making Naruto land flat on his stomach.

"AAHH! Get it off me! Get it off me!" Naruto cried as he put his hands over his head.

"Naruto! Calm down!" Sakura said as she came over.

Araile blinked as the sun shone onto her face, and she gingerly stepped off Naruto's squirming body and stood beside him, dusting her clothes off and pulling twigs from her white hair.

Her ear twitched as she heard somebody come up behind her, and turned her head as Kakashi came up behind her. She blinked as he smiled down at her, and Araile jumped up onto Kakashi and sat neatly on his shoulder.

"Everyone, this is your new companion, Araile" Kakashi said as the little girl looked around, a little shy with all the new people looking at her.

"Aww! She's so cute!" Sakura said as she came over and Araile jumped off Kakashi's shoulder and walked towards Sakura.

She smiled as Araile twitched her tail, looking down at the ground shyly and offering a small 'hello'.

Sakura smiled and began to scratch behind Araile's ears. Her eyes widened in surprise at the sudden contact, and she began to purr as the sensation turned into pleasure.

"Well, it looks like somebody here knows how to pet a cat" Kakashi said, obviously surprised as well causing Sakura to nod.

"We have a cat at home," she said as she continued to scratch behind Araile's ears, sending the young girl to complete heaven.

"Hey! Let me pet her! Let me pet her!" Naruto cried out as he jumped up and down.

Araile blinked at Naruto as he ran over, causing Sakura to stop scratching her ears.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto only my OC Araile.**

Araile slowly began to walk towards Naruto, never taking her eyes off him. Before Naruto can do anything, the small girl suddenly grabbed his pouch of shuriken and ran behind Kakashi, giggling loudly.

"Hey! Give it back!" Naruto cried out as he began to chase after Araile.

She clung onto the pouch of shuriken and ran to the nearest tree, climbing it with ease. Using her nails as anchors to the tree bark, Araile climbed higher and higher with Naruto running below on the ground after her. Through the trees, onto the ground, up in the air and down numerous trees Naruto chased Araile around for the entire day and into the night.

Peeking around a tree branch, Araile looked to see if Naruto was anywhere to be seen. Panting, she slowly and cautiously climbed down, the weapon pouch still clutched in her hand. A sudden pain shot through Araile's tailbone, causing her to yelp loudly. Naruto, panting hard, had gotten a hold of her tail.

"Now…give me back…my shuriken pouch…" Naruto said between gasps.

Araile pushed the pouch towards Naruto and sat down on the cool ground, her back facing the others.

"Ha! Now this is what I'm talking about," Naruto said as he took the shuriken bag back from the panting girl.

Araile carefully curled her tail behind her back, showing the others that her tail was curled around the kunai knife that Araile had snuck out of Naruto's holster. Sakura tried her best to stifle her giggles.

"Idiot" Sasuke muttered.

Finally, Araile yawned widely and looked around. In the corner of her eye, she could see that Naruto still hadn't noticed that his kunai knife was missing.

"Well, I think we should all get some sleep" Kakashi said as he sat back against a tree and took out a book, beginning to read.

Araile started to follow him, but stopped. Making sure that Naruto couldn't see her tail, she silently skipped over to where Sasuke was sitting. .

"Hey! Kakashi-sensei! Why are you reading that book?" Naruto said.

Kakashi simply shrugged as he continued reading, but looked up from his book.

"Quiet, Naruto. Can't you see that some people are asleep?" Kakashi said as he pointed over to Araile and Sasuke.

The small girl was cuddled against Sasuke, and both of them had fallen fast asleep with Sasuke's hand on your head. Everyone afterwards fell asleep in the woods, the stars blinking down at the team.

As the morning arrived, so did the bird songs and the buzzing of the bees. Araile's eyes opened slightly, but automatically squinted as the sun's rays shone into her eyes. The sky was streaked with an assortment of purples and pinks.

With a yawn, Araile looked around and saw that Kakashi had fallen asleep with his book over his face. She then looked at Sasuke and felt a smile tugging at her lips as she began to purr quietly, thinking of all the times they had played together as young children. Her stomach suddenly reminded Araile that she hadn't had any food since yesterday morning. Araile patted her stomach and silently climbed up the closest tree, searching for some food.

Jumping from one tree branch to another was a very quick and very silent way. Quickly, Araile spotted an apple tree loaded with ripe and glistening apples. Their sweet aroma reached her sensitive nose and she breathed in, deeply inhaling the intense aroma.

"Yummy! I haven't had an apple in so long," she said out loud as she picked an apple that was closest to her.

Araile's stomach gurgled in approval as she began to pick more and more apples.

"Oh great, now how am I going to get all this food to my friends?" she asked herself as she slumped against the tree, defeated with her arms full of apples.

"Maybe I can help," a voice said below you.

Startled, Araile yelped in surprise and lost her balance, clutching onto her apples with all of her strength. Luckily, her tail quickly latched onto the tree branch she was standing on. Araile was extremely grateful at that moment that she had a strong tailbone which prevented her from falling to the hard ground below.

Araile blinked as she saw the person who spoke earlier and grinned.

"Sasuke, I thought you were still sleeping" Araile said, giggling slightly.

Sasuke appeared upside down due to Araile hanging upside down with her tail clinging around the branch.

"I was up before you were" Sasuke answered.

Araile shrugged and continue to hang to the branch. She then swung her body in an arch, landing on top of the branch. Araile laid there on her stomach, staring at Sasuke's head until he looked up at her.

"What?" Sasuke said, getting a bit annoyed with the girl staring.

"Nothing" Araile muttered.

"Hn" Sasuke grunted as he put his hands in his pockets.

Araile growled and threw an apple at Sasuke to which he caught it, which was no surprise to her.

"Araile, you are old enough to know not to throw your food around" another voice spoke from below.

Araile blinked looked down and saw Kakashi standing there, looking up at her. She gave your caretaker a small and sheepish smile as her grip loosened on the apples that were in her arms.

One by one, the apples dropped from branch to branch until they reached the ground, giving Araile an idea. She reached over to the other tree branches and plucked some more apples. As she picked them, Araile dropped them to the ground. Before long Araile stopped suddenly, her ears twitching back and forth as her body went rigid. Sasuke noticed this and called to Kakashi, who had began reading his book.

"Kakashi-sensei, what's wrong with Araile?" Sasuke said.

"Hm?" Kakashi said as he looked up from his book.

Sasuke jumped up towards the branch and stood in front of Araile. As Sasuke stood in front of Araile, the girl's eyes narrowed and she suddenly growled.

"Araile? What's the matter with you?" Sasuke said as he took a hold of her shoulders, causing her eyes snapped up to Sasuke's face.

"Get down, now!" Araile snapped.

Sasuke looked at the girl funny as Kakashi stood up as well, looking around. A strong wind picked up as trees begin to sway back and forth.

"Sakura, Naruto, get over here now!" Kakashi said, and both Sakura and Naruto came running to their sensei.

"Kakashi-sensei, what's going on?" Naruto cried out, Sakura nodding.

Kakashi looked up at Araile, but Araile had stayed in the same spot as her ears and tail twitched back and forth.

"I don't know," he said, his exposed eye looking around.

Suddenly, more then 10 shuriken flew out of the bushes and headed for Sasuke. Before anybody could do anything, Araile jumped in front of the shuriken.

Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise as Araile gave a little cry as the shuriken hit her in the ribs; the force knocking the girl off the branch. She hit branch after branch as she fell towards the ground. After what seemed like a long time, Araile finally reached the ground, forcing a small "_oof_" out of the injured girl.

Two figures jumped out of the bushes and headed towards Team 7. The team got their weapons ready, but then the enemy ninjas stopped before coming into contact with the team.

"Come on I can take you! Believe it!" Naruto shouted, causing the ninjas to smirk and disappeared in a cloud of thick white smoke.

As the smoke cleared, tags were strewn all over the trees. The tags began to glow, and the team flew to the ground as each tag exploded in a blinding light. As the dust cleared Kakashi looked around the area, seeing if anyone was hurt. Thankfully, no one was hurt very bad including Araile. The shirt you wore saved you from the sharp edges of the shuriken, but the force of the blows gave you a large bruise along the side of your ribs. Cuts and scratches covered your arms from the twigs, and Sakura had a scratch on her cheek from the rock shrapnel that had hit her.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto only Araile**

Team 7 shook themselves off from the attack, and Araile smiled at Naruto and brought out his kunai knife that she had taken earlier. She walked over to Naruto before he could say anything, took his hand and put the kunai knife in it. As she closed Naruto's hand over the weapon, a strange and weird tickling sensation crawled up the back of her throat.

As the tickling sensation worsened, Araile coughed into her hand and looked, turning white as blood coated her hand. Panicked, Araile's heart started to race, and pain started to race across her ribs.

Apparently the shuriken had done a lot more damage then just the bruises. Her vision started to become blurry, and the landscape in front started to sway back and forth.

The pain tugged at Araile's conscience and she could feel herself drifting in and out of consciousness, her body swaying ever so slightly from side to side. Her ear twitched as her foggy mind picked up someone calling out her name.

Who was calling her?

Her knees gave out, and she landed with a _thud_ on the soft grass. Darkness crept in and over Araile's mind; her heart beating at a slow rhythm and her lungs working to bring in the much needed oxygen.

_'The grass smells nice right now...' _Araile thought before her mind floated away on the dark waves of unconsciousness.

A couple hours later, her mind slowly released itself from the comfort of unconsciousness. Groaning once, Araile turned over on her right side and slowly opened her eyes. Blinking, Araile noticed that she was in someone's sleeping bag. Her body twitched as waves of pain raced through her muscles, making Araile clamp her eyes shut.

After a couple of seconds, the pain passed and her small body trembled. A noise appeared on the trembling girls other side; it sounded like paper being turned over.

Her ear twitched as the sound continued every few minutes, and slowly Araile worked her muscles to a sitting position.

The noise happened again.

She turned her head towards the persistent noise, and saw a familiar face buried in a small book.

"Kakashi!" Araile exclaimed out as she struggled out of the sleeping bag and hugged him.

He looked up from his perverted fantasy that was a book, smiled and returned the hug while ruffling the happy girls hair.

"It's about time you woke up" Kakashi said as he put his book away and stood up.

Araile stood up as well, and Kakashi places a hand on her head, causing the girl to look up at him questioningly.

"You should get some sleep, Araile" Kakashi said as he walked to where the rest of Team 7 was as they practised their kunai targeting on trees.

"But I'm fine!" she protested, but Kakashi was already gone.

Araile could hear Naruto shouting, Sakura scolding and Sasuke cursing Naruto. She slowly sat down smiling a bit as she watched Kakashi holding the back of Naruto's shirt while he shouted something about killing Sasuke, while Sasuke stood nearby with his hands in his pockets, Sakura as usual swooning over him.

"But I'm fine, aren't I?" Araile said to herself as she looked down at her small hands.

They looked fine, with the exception of dirt and mud under her fingernails. Hopefully, Kakashi wouldn't notice and make Araile take the dreaded bath.

"Ha! I'm fine!" Araile said out loud.

She sighed and snuggled inside the sleeping bag, the sounds of nature surrounding her...not including Naruto's loud boasting about beating Sasuke. Smiling, Araile felt her eyelids getting heavy. Her tail curled around her legs and before long she was asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I only own Araile and Ishimaru**

Later that night, a burning sesnsation began to radiate from Araile's forehead and spread down to the tips of her toes, causing Araile's eyes to shoot open. Her eyes narrowed in pain as the burning persisted; it was like someone has placed hot embers in the very core of her soul.

"What's going on?" she whispered, fear setting over her like a thick blanket.

Her tail twitched as her forehead continued to burn; her breath hissing between Araile's clenched teeth.

"What's happening to me?" she whimpered as her eyes began to water.

A sudden blankness came over her mind, and a voice entered her mind as Araile's body went limp.

"Ah finally, a body that is worthy of my control!" the voice said, laughing harshly.

"Who are you?" Araile whispered as she slumped over, the burning almost too much to handle and the voice laughed again.

"I am Ishimaru, the demon within the symbol".

"The demon within the..." Araile trailed off, and winced as the burning flared up.

"That's right. The demon within the symbol" the voice said again.

The terrified girl could tell that the voice was very powerful.

"Now, let's see what this body can do" the voice said.

Araile flinched as a new sensation raced through her body, causing Araile to rock back and forth.

"Hey, Araile-chan, are you alright? You look kinda funny" a voice said behind you.

Araile's head whipped around and looked to see Naruto standing there. Her eyes went blank as she slowly backed away from Naruto.

"Hey, Araile? Yoo-hoo, Earth to Araile-chan!" Naruto said as he took a step towards her, but stopped when a low growl sounded from her throat.

Before Naruto could do anything, Araile lunged at him, snarling. Naruto fell back as she whipped around him and headed towards the trees.

"AAHH! Kakashi-sensei! Something's wrong with Araile-chan!" Naruto shouted as he ran towards Team 7.

Everybody looked at either Naruto or Araile's retreating form.

"Let's get out of this place, shall we?" Ishimaru said after a moment of silence.

She again felt her body not responding to her own pleas in her mind, but instead responded to the decision of this Ishimaru. She snarled and turned away and started walking faster and faster, until she began to run through the thick trees. Trees whipped past her as she ran with demonic speed. Araile suddenly skidded to a stop as she stared at someone that standing in her way.

Her golden eyes, now a dull purple, narrowed slightly. The person raised his hand as he pulled out some shuriken, ready to strike.

"Ah, its the Copy Ninja, Hatake Kakashi. I've heard so much about you" Ishimaru mused, using Araile as his mouthpiece.

"What have you done with Araile" Kakashi growled.

Her tail twitched as Ishimaru laughed in her mind, making Araile's lips twitch in a grin.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, only my characters Araile and Ishimaru**

"Answer me!" Kakashi yelled again, angry that someone was now possessing his ward.

"Done? Why, she's right here" Ishimaru hissed.

Araile snarled and before she could stop herself, Ishimaru commanded your body once more and Araile started running right at Kakashi. She rammed into Kakashi and flew back a couple feet. Since she were small for her age, Araile's attack did not hurt Kakashi. Araile, on the other hand, got the most damage. Every time she was thrown back, her body would weaken more and more.

Bruises and cuts began to cover her arms, legs, and back.

As Araile got up from the cold ground, another sensation began to fill her mind. It was as if something inside Araile's very core was telling her to stop. Her eyes widened in surprise, and a snarl clawed its way out of her mouth as Araile clutched her head. The sensation was just too strange; she had never had this type of thing happen to her before.

Araile's heart began to race. It was as if the invisible forces of Good and Evil were battling it out, and the victor would claim her body and soul. Panic began to set in and in her mental state, she began to ram her head against the nearest tree trunk.

"Attack him! Attack him I say!" Ishimaru demanded.

Araile growled and rammed her head again into the same tree. Blood began to trickle down her forehead and down to her chin, where it splattered onto the ground. Again and again Araile rammed her head against the tree trunk, the two sides of Evil and Good still battling it out in her mind. Ishimaru let out an ear-piercing scream, and then went silent.

Finally, a warmth began to flow through Araile's veins, leaving the girl breathing heavily and muscles shaking.

For now, Good has won against Evil.

Her knees buckled behind her, and Araile slumped to the ground. Her ear twitched weakly as a pair of footsteps calmly walked towards the exhausted girl. Araile's right eye peaked open and saw that Kakashi had calmly walked over to her. Araile took a deep breath and lifted herself into a sitting position. As she sat up, Araile looked around; her eyes back to their normal gold colour.

Araile's eyes gazed over at Kakashi as he stood infront of his ward, his figure blocking out the sun's rays from hitting her face. He bent down and collected the small girl in his arms before turning back and walking to where the rest of Team 7 was. Her fingers clung weakly to Kakashi's vest as she fought hard to not fall into the tempting clutches of being unconscious.

The darkness won.

Araile's eyes shut, and her head lolled against Kakashi's vest as he continued to walk to where his team was.

_Wake up._

Araile's fingers moved the tiniest inch, grasping at the material beneath it.

_Wake up._

Her tail twitched the slightest bit.

_Wake up._

Araile's ear twitches as it picked up the sound of bird songs in the air.

The morning came, and so did the bird songs. Her ear twitched again as she listened to someone that was talking nearby. There seemed to be some other people talking as well. Araile's breathing quickend as she opened her eyes. Her vision blurred a bit, so Araile sat up and rubbed at her eyes. A loud voice was heard from nearby.

_Wait, not nearby, almost...beside you._

Araile looked around, confused. As she took in her surroundings, she saw a small group of people sitting around a fire. Araile blinked back the tears as she set her eyes on the group.

"Hey, Araile-chan is awake!" somebody shouted.

Araile looked up and saw somebody walking over to her, and her tail twitched as a boy sat down beside her.

"I heard what happened" the boy said.

"Sasuke!" Araile giggled out as she flung herself on him.

Sasuke smirked and patted the top of Araile's head.

"Well, I think we should give Sasuke and Araile a little time alone, now shall we?" Kakashi said as he hurried Sakura and Naruto away from the campsite.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, only my character Araile**

When Kakashi and the others came back, they found Araile asleep on Sasuke's lap while Sasuke was stared at the fire, now reduced to red embers.

"Hey, Sasuke! It looks like somebody likes you!" Naruto laughed.

Sakura punched him on the back of his head, making Naruto fall flat on his face while Sasuke gave Naruto a glare.

Kakashi walked over to Sasuke and picked the sleeping girl up, stopping for a second to look down at her with a surprised look in his eye.

"Well, what do you know? Purring like a kitten" Kakashi chuckled as he brought Araile over to where his book was laying.

Kakashi then put her down and sat down beside Araile, placing a blanket over her small frame. Her ear twitched slightly as Kakashi opened his book and began to read it.

"Aw man! Kakashi-sensei! Do you always have to read that book!" Naruto shouted from across the fire as he sat down and pulled a blanket from his bag.

Kakashi gazed at Naruto until he squirmed underneath his blanket.

"Oh, shut up Naruto!" Sakura said.

"It's a dirty book anyways" Naruto murmured.

Kakashi's gaze flickered to Araile's sleeping form to see if she had awakened, then returned to his book after he was sure she didn't wake.  
But unknown to either Kakashi or anybody else, Araile were having the worst dream in her entire 9 year old life. Her ear twitched again as she clenched and unclenched her hands into small, tight fists.

In the beginning of her dream, it was all a confusing blur. Nothing made sense.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
_Araile was walking through the village of Konoha, when a mob suddenly appeared all around her._

_"Tsk tsk, it will never fit in here" a voice said, hard and cruel. _

_"That thing is bad luck!" another voice shouted, just as cruel as the first. _

_Araile laid her ears back in shame as she continued walking, her head down and eyes on the road. A rock suddenly hit her at the back of her leg, making Araile wince in pain. _

_"Hey! Get out of here! Nobody wants you here!" the first voice shouted, while others joined in by either throwing stones or shouting at the scared girl. _

_"L-Leave me alone!" Araile whimpered._

_She spotted Kakashi's house and made a run for it, finally reaching the house, bruised all over from the stones being thrown at her. She yanked the door open with both hands, smiling slightly when it opened. _

_Araile looked over her shoulder to see if any of the mob has followed her before she entered the small house and closed the door. Turning around, Araile smiled in relief as a familiar figure walked towards her._

_"Oh Kakashi! You won't believe what the villagers are doing! There must be something wrong with them!" she said, breathless from all the running. _

_Araile's ear twitched as Kakashi crossed the room to where the panting girl was standing. _

_"But I got the package you wanted" she said, smiling a little at the fact she had accomplished something by herself._

_Araile's smile instantly vanished as Kakashi now stood in front of her, not saying a word. _

_"Kakashi? W-what's the matter?" she said, now getting a bit scared. _

_Kakashi looked down at the scared girl, his black eye boring into her gold eyes. Her ears laid flat against her head as Kakashi slowly took out a kunai knife. Araile flinched and snapped her eyes shut; after a couple of moments she opened them slowly when nothing seemed to happen. _

_"Kakashi? What's-" Araile started to say, but was cut off as Kakashi suddenly punched her in the jaw, making her fall to the ground. _

_Tears sprang to her eyes as Araile touched the spot gingerly where Kakashi had hit her. She looked up fearfully as Kakashi stood in front of her, his figure towering over her._

_"Kakashi, what's going on?" Araile whispered as tears rolled down her cheeks, her jaw beginning to throb with no answer from Kakashi. _

_Instead, he grabbed Araile by her throat and held her up against the wall. She gasped for breath and tried to struggle for a bit of air; her lungs starting to cry for the oxygen._

_"There's no where for you to run now, is there?" Kakashi said, but yet it's wasn't really his voice. _

_Araile gasped for breath again as Kakashi chuckled darkly. _

_"Now, this should be exciting. Remember, Araile? It's very, very sharp!" Kakashi stated as the kunai knife pierced through the girl's skin. _

_Araile could feel the knife pierce her heart as she screamed, but the scream was cut short as blood filled Araile's lungs as her heart stopped its frantic beating. Her lifeless body fell to the floor, while Kakashi stood over Araile as he stared at the bloodstained weapon. _

_Kakashi began to laugh; a dark and evil laugh that no man had ever heard before._

Araile's eyes snapped open and she sat up, panting hard. She quickly looked behind her to see if Kakashi was still there, and sighed in relief as she saw him lying-yet again-with his book on his face. Letting out a large yawn, Araile got to her feet as she contemplated about her dream. No, not a dream...a nightmare!

Stretching, Araile took a couple of steps away from Kakashi, but stopped as a voice said, "Where are you going?".

She looked behind her and saw Kakashi sitting up.

"I dunno" she said, looking around.

"Well, let's see where we can go" Kakashi said as he got up and walked beside his ward.

"Come on Kakashi! Let's go! Please?" Araile begged, grabbing and tugging at his hand.

Kakashi sighed and allowed the 9 year old girl to lead him into the forest. She let go of his hand as Araile looked around in total amazement.

"Whoa! These trees are huge!" Araile shouted happily, walking up to one.

"Yes, these trees are big" Kakashi agreed.

Before Kakashi could say anything else, Araile sunk her nails in the tree bark and began to climb.

"Araile, what are you doing?" Kakashi said as he watched the girl climb.

"I wanna see what's at the top," Araile said as she continue to climb, getting higher and higher.

Kakashi sighed and began to walk around. She continued climbing, branch after branch and soon she reached the top of the tree and look around. A light breeze was blowing, making some of the trees sway. Araile closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying the feeling of the breeze blowing through her hair. Araile opened her eyes and gazed around before she began to climb down, but stopped as she noticed something in the distance.

"Huh? What's that?" she murmured as she concentrated on the object.

It turned out to be a shrine of some sort, with a pointed roof sticking out through the tree tops.

"That's weird," Araile said as she continued to climb down to the ground.

Soon Araile reached the ground, and began looking for Kakashi. Her ear twitched as a high-pitched whistling sound suddenly began sounding through the trees, making the girl cry out; her hands flying to her ears in attempt to block out the sound. Araile looked around wildly, her hands still covering her ringing ears. Tears began to run down her face; Araile's head felt like it was about to burst.

Her hands, still clamped firmly around her ears, began to feel numb. The ground began to shake, causing Araile to look up through her tears. She gasped as she saw the tree that Araile just climbed starting to crumble and fall over. Araile stood there, too frightened to move, as the tree came closer and closer to falling on her and no doubt crushing her small body.

Suddenly, Araile felt someone picking her up just as the tree came crashing down. She looked up to see Kakashi looking down at her, his face filled with worry. The whistling had finally stopped and blinking away her tears Araile slowly took her hands away from her ears. Kakashi put Araile down, and her ears drooped as she looked at the ground.

"What was that all about?" Kakashi said after a moment of silence and his ward stayed silent, ears still drooped.

Kakashi sighed and began to walked towards the camp. Araile slowly started to follow him, but stopped and sat down on a fallen tree branch, causing Kakashi looked back at her.

"Araile? Are you coming?" he asked and the small girl looked at him and shook her head slightly.

"Alright then" Kakashi says as he continues walking.

After a couple minutes of walking, Kakashi made it back to his team.

"There you are, Kakashi-sensei! We've been so worried!" Sakura cried.

"Hey, where's Araile-chan?" Naruto asked, looking around.

"Over there" Kakashi says as he pointed to a branch where Araile was sitting.

"Why is she there all alone?" Sakura asked, quietly.

Kakashi shrugged as Sasuke looked at Araile. She could feel their eyes boring into her, but the 9 year old ignored them.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I only own Araile, Ishimaru, and the little fairy girl.**

Finally, Araile got up; her hands and feet feeling numb. Looking around, she made sure that nobody noticed her. She had decided to find that shrine that had caught the girl's attention earlier.

Setting her shoulders, she quickly walked into the forest and chose a direction to walk. Hopefully, she was walking the right way. Continuing to walk in that direction, her ears twitched as the piercing whistling sound came again. She snarled and clamped her hands over her ringing ears. The whistling continued; the sound making the girl fall to her knees, swaying back and forth.

The middle of her forehead began to burn.

"No not this again!" she yelped as a familiar sensation raced through her body; Araile's nerves tingling and her muscles locked tight.

"Ahh, it's so good to be back" Ishimaru sighed in the shaking girl's mind.

"No! You're not here! I'm dreaming! I'm dreaming!" Araile shouted as tears started sliding down her face.

"Oh, but I am, my dear. Now, let's see this shrine that you've wanted to see" Ishimaru stated.

Araile growled deeply as her body went rigid. Her eyes, now a deep shade of purple, stared straight ahead as Ishimaru silently ordered Araile's body to walk towards where the shrine was located. Not noticed to either Araile or Ishimaru, Sasuke had been watching behind a tree. His eyes narrowed as he watched his childhood friend run off. Back at the camp, Team 7 was sitting around the campfire, chatting silently about training and Naruto becoming Hokage.

"Kakashi-sensei" someone said.

"Oh, Sasuke, where have you been?" Kakashi asked calmly as he continued reading his perverted book.

Sasuke appeared through the thick forest foliage behind his sensei.

"Something's wrong with Araile. I don't know what's wrong with her, but she's been acting really strange. Before I came back, Araile just ran towards the middle of the forest" Sasuke stated.

Kakashi's eye widened as he put away his book.

"Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura! You three stay here," Kakashi said suddenly as he stood up.

"What? Why! We want to come too!" Naruto and Sakura said at the same time.

"No. It's way too risky for you three to come along. I have to go by myself" Kakashi said very seriously.

"Grr! Kakashi-sensei, why do we have to stay here? We can help!" Naruto shouted again.

"Yeah, Kakashi-sensei! We want to help Araile with you!" Sakura added.

Sasuke just stayed silent, hands shoved in his pockets.

"It's not safe" Kakashi stated as he continued walking.

That comment just got Naruto even angrier.

"Kakashi-sensei is right. We shouldn't go with him," Sasuke suddenly said.

Sakura nodded her head in understanding while Naruto looked dumb-founded. The group watched as their sensei disappeared into the darkness of the forest.

As Kakashi walked, it became harder and harder to see through the foliage. Fallen logs, branches, and leaves littered the ground.

"Now, where to go?" Kakashi said to himself as he looked around.

"Ah, this way" he said as he changed direction.

Finally, after what seemed like hours of walking, Kakashi found himself at the entrance of the shrine.

"Now why would Araile go into a place like this?" Kakashi asked himself as he studied some marks all along side of the entrance.

Suddenly, a small light flew around Kakashi's head and landed on his nose. Kakashi's eye widened in surprise as the small light suddenly giggled and grew even brighter. As the light dimmed, Kakashi found himself no longer looking at a bright ball of light, but instead at a small fairy.  
The fairy giggled again and curtsied. Her hair was light blue and shoulder length, and her small silver wings fluttered as she flew off again. The fairy looked back at Kakashi and flew back to the Jonin.

She flew to his head and pulled a piece of Kakashi's grey hair.

"Oh, you want me to follow you?" Kakashi asked.

The fairy nodded her head and flew off into the shrine. Kakashi had to jog a bit in order to keep up with the small fairy's flying speed. Every once and a while, the fairy would look back, as if to insure herself that Kakashi was indeed following her. Suddenly, the fairy stopped and Kakashi looking around as he stopped as well. The tunnel ahead seemed to split into two smaller tunnels, and after a few seconds the fairy squeaked and pointed towards the second small tunnel.

"Oh, you want me to go this way?" Kakashi asked.

The fairy squeaked and nodded her head.

"Alright" Kakashi sighed.

The fairy fluttered her small wings and situated herself on Kakashi's shoulder as he continued walking.

"Well, at least I don't have to walk in the darkness" Kakashi mused to himself.

After walking for a long time, the tunnel opened up into a big chamber and the fairy stood up and flew over to a hole in the side of the wall. The fairy looked at Kakashi and gestured frantically for Kakashi to come over to where she was. She squeaked as pointed to the hole, her small wings fluttering furiously.

"Are you trying to tell me that something is in there?" Kakashi asked, looking inside the darkness.

The fairy nodded.

Before Kakashi could say anything else, the fairy flew in, making the entire width of the hole light. Kakashi blinked as he laid eyes on his ward's small and battered frame as she on her side, one arm dangling out the mouth of the hole.

Groaning softly, Araile began to open her eyes, but squinted as a light in front of her grew brighter and brighter. The small girl's ear twitched slightly as she heard a series of short squeaking sounds coming from above her. A pair of strong arms wrapped around Araile's small body just as her mind went black.

"Alright then. Now to get out of here," Kakashi muttered as he held a now unconscious 9 year old.

Before Kakashi walked out of the chamber, the fairy began a series of short squeaks and chirps. As Kakashi looked at the fairy, the fairy pointed towards another entrance that led into the chamber.

A series of footsteps could be heard coming towards the entrance.

As the footsteps grew louder and louder, the fairy gave a short squeak, waved to you and Kakashi, and flew out of the chamber from a hole in the ceiling.

Kakashi looked around, and decided to make a clone of Araile. He situated the clone back in the hole, and hoisted the real girl up onto his back. Finally, Kakashi jumped onto a high rail that went across the ceiling just as a person entered the chamber.

A tall man walked out from the other entrance and calmly walked towards Araile's clone. The man glanced down at her clone before he picked it up.

"Now, do you like your lovely home, my dear?" the man chuckled as he took something out of his pocket.

_"That looks like a needle. What is he doing with one?" _Kakashi thought.

"There now, this won't hurt a bit, my dear," the man said as he grinned.

Kakashi silently took out some shurikan, but stopped when Araile's clone gave a small smile before closing its eyes. The man finally turned around with the needle in his hand and now, Kakashi could see what the man looked like. The man had light brown skin with markings on the right side of his face with dark blue in two long braids that went down the mans back. A long, slim sword hung from his belt at his waist.

The man suddenly injected the needle into Araile's clone's neck, and the clone exploded in a _poof _of thick smoke. The man chuckled deeply and unsheathed his sword.

"You can come down, Kakashi" the man said as he looked up to where Kakashi was watching.

"Who are you" Kakashi demanded as he jumped down with a still unconscious girl still on his back.

Watching the mysterious man, Kakashi put her down gently on the ground, where he thought she'd be safe.

"I am Ishimaru, the demon within the symbol. You should recognize me," Ishimaru introduced as he grinned, then suddenly lunged at Kakashi with his fist raised to strike.

Both Kakashi and Ishimaru engaged in the hand-to-hand combat of taijutsu but before long, Kakashi was thrown into a wall. Ishimaru then took out his sword and raised it above his head, his mouth split in a wide and slightly crazed smile.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: Nope, only own Araile and Ishimaru**

Suddenly, Ishimaru cried out in pain. Kakashi's eye opened in surprise as Ishimaru twisted his arm around, both Kakashi and Ishimaru looking to see what was the cause of this new pain. Kakashi chuckled as he saw a now conscience Araile attached to Ishimaru's arm; her teeth embedded deeply. Snarling, her ears layed flat against her head as Araile bit deeper and deeper into Ishimaru's arm.

"Get off me you little runt!" Ishimaru shouted as he hit the growling girl over the head with the hilt of his sword.

Yelping, Araile released Ishimaru's arm; blood poured from his wound. She sat on the ground, rubbing her head as an odd ringing sound rang in her ears.

"Araile, watch out!" Kakashi shouted.

She looked up to see Ishimaru running full-speed at her, his sword out and ready. Araile growled low in her throat as she stood up, facing Ishimaru just as 2 kunai knives came out of nowhere. The knives landed directly in front of Araile, and Ishimaru skidded to a stop. Surprised, she looked around, and her eyes opened wide in disbelief as she saw Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura running through the mouth of an open passage.

"Araile! Are you alright?" Sakura said, looking directly at the girl, and Araile nodded slightly.

"Alright! Naruto is here! Nobody has anything to fear!" Naruto shouted.

Sakura and Sasuke both sighed at their teammate, and Araile's tail twitched slightly before looking at Ishimaru.

"Well, it looks like you've brought some of your little friends along" Ishimaru said as he walked slowly over to where Naruto and Sakura were.

Araile growled savagely and stood in front of them with her arms out, and Ishimaru stopped and smirked at the girl's stance.

"Are you protecting your little friends, my dear?" Ishimaru laughed, then pointed his sword at her.

"You know that's no good," he said, then lunged at Sasuke with his sword.

Araile's eyes widened in surprise and fear just as Sakura cried out. Sasuke put his hand to his kunai pouch as he saw Ishimaru approaching.

"Now die!" Ishimaru shouted as his sword glowed and crackled with electricity.

Araile made up her mind then and quick as a flash, she jumped in front of Sasuke before Ishimaru reached him. She looked back at Sasuke and smiled before Ishimaru's sword stabbed into her abdomen and out a surge of electricity, shocking her. Everything seemed to go in slow motion after that. Araile could hear her heartbeat in her ears, and she scarcely heared Kakashi's voice, along with Sasuke, Sakura's, and Naruto's. She blacked out, thankful that she could feel no pain.

Her body was thrown into a wall as blood flew everywhere. Kakashi's eye widened as Ishimaru laughed loudly as he stared at Araile's body, now covered in blood and in the shadows.

"You see, that's why you should never interfere when someone is about to kill someone. Because you'll end up getting killed instead!" Ishimaru laughed.

Sasuke suddenly lunged at Ishimaru, kunai knives in his hand and Ishimaru smirked again.

"Now, this should be interesting" he said as he swung his sword in the air and almost immediately the sword begun to glow with electricity.

"Sasuke-kun, watch out!" Sakura shouted, but it was too late.

Sasuke met Ishimaru's sword mid-air and was thrown back. Sakura shrieked and Naruto stood there, shock having him rooted to the spot. Ishimaru laughed even more and pointed his sword at Naruto.

"Now it's your turn!" Ishimaru shouted as he raised his sword above his head.

Suddenly, Ishimaru screamed as his arm was twisted around his body at an un-natural angle as a loud and terrifying growl echoed through the chamber walls.

"W-What's happening?" Sakura said, still at Sasuke's side.

"Not again" Kakashi muttered.

Ishimaru brought his other arm to his back and grabbed something. Sakura gasped loudly as Ishimaru screamed again as Araile hung in mid-air, her teeth deeply embedded once again in Ishimaru's arm. She had snuck behind Ishimaru and now had a death-grip on his arm.

"Kakashi-sensei, what's going on?" Naruto asked as Kakashi jumped to where Team 7 was but Kakashi stayed silent.

_'The last time this happened, Araile was beaten up pretty badly. She's pretty beaten up now, so it could happen again'_, Kakashi thought.

A snarl distracted the groups attention. Araile jumped into some shadows along the chamber wall as Ishimaru gripped his bloodied and badly bitten arm. She stalked out and Sakura let out a small shriek as she laid eyes on the badly beaten girl.

Araile's nails had grown twice the size that they originally were and her eyes had become a deep purple. Sharp canines grew from under her top lip as blood smeared all over Araile's body as she advanced towards Ishimaru, growling and snarling.

"Enough! Play time is over!" Ishimaru shouted as he aimed his sword at the growling girl.

Naruto clenched his fists as he looked at his sensei's young ward.

"Kakashi-sensei! Why are we just standing here when Araile is over there fighting on her own! She could get killed!" Naruto said as he looked towards his sensei.

"Well then, I guess I'll have to help her" Naruto said and as he was just about to make the necessary hand signs for his shadow-clone jutsu, Kakashi put a hand on Naruto's shoulder, stopping him.

"Stop Naruto! We can't interfere with Araile and Ishimaru! Look at Araile, Naruto. Do you see anything different about her? Her appearance? Her actions? If you even step near her, Araile will attack you without hesitation. I was hoping that she would never be like this" Kakashi said, his eye on Araile.

"But Kakashi-sensei, why is she like this all of a sudden? I mean, she wasn't like this until now" Naruto asked.

Kakashi looked at Naruto and said "Naruto, do you remember the night when you went into the tent to see if Araile was alright?".

Naruto scratched the back of his head, thinking.

"Yeah, now I remember! That's when she began to act funny, and then she jumped over me and ran into the forest," Naruto said.

"Well, that's because whenever her life is in danger, she goes into a state that allows her full demon to come out. That's when she will attack anything and everything that moves close to her. That's why I can't allow you to get near her. I can't allow any of my team to get near Araile until she's turned back into her normal self" Kakashi said.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said, relieved.

Naruto looked back as Sasuke shakily got back on his feet.

Sakura started to say something, but was cut off by Kakashi shouting "Sasuke, Sakura, watch out!".

Sakura and Sasuke jumped to the side, nearly missing Ishimaru as he flew into a wall.

They watched silently as Ishimaru got up and ran full speed at Araile. She swiped at Ishimaru with her claws and made 4 deep gashes in Ishimaru's chest. She slashed at Ishimaru with her claws again and again, sometimes missing and sometimes hitting. Unfortunately exhaustion began to take a toll on Araile, slowing her movements.

Finally, Ishimaru lifted his foot and kicked Araile's now exhausted form away from him. She panted heavily as she struggled to stand, blood dripping from numerous wounds as she raised her head. Araile bared her teeth and hissed as Ishimaru walked toward the panting girl.

As Ishimaru raised his sword, Araile summoned the last amount of energy in her body. She growled slightly and lunged at Ishimaru, and clung to Ishimaru's sword as the sword began to glow.

"What is this? Get off!" Ishimaru shouted.

Araile slashed at Ishimaru, but missed.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Thank you to Raziel104 and adorave for adding 'Just A Kid' to their favourites, and to adorave and FicreaderL5 for following :) You guys are amazing!**

**Disclaimer: I only own Araile and Ishimaru**

Suddenly the floor began to shake and everybody looked around as cracks appeared all over the wall and up to the ceiling as it began to crumble.

"This chamber is going to collapse! Everybody, get out now!" Kakashi shouted.

"But Kakashi-sensei, we can't leave Araile-chan! She's still fighting!" Naruto said, and Sakura nodded.

Kakashi looked back at his ward. Araile continued to fight Ishimaru as the ceiling began to fall to the floor in pieces.

"We have to go, now! I will get Araile out, now go!" Kakashi said.

A piece of the roof fell between Araile and the rest of the team and Sakura screamed while covering her head.

"Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto go out that tunnel" Kakashi shouted as he began to run towards Araile.

Team 7 nodded and followed their sensei's direction out through the maze-like tunnels.

Finally, the team of genin got out of the shrine. As soon as they got out, the whole shrine collapsed; the team stood there in shock as they watched it turn to ruins.

"Naruto, get back here!" Sakura suddenly shouted.

Sasuke looked to see Naruto running towards the ruined chamber that was reduced to piles of wood and cement bricks. Naruto ran to the pile and started to dig.

"Naruto, what are you doing?" Sakura shouted.

Kakashi suddenly appeared behind the pink-haired genin with an exhausted child over his shoulder and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Let him be, Sakura" Kakashi said as he watched Naruto dig desperately in the pile.

Finally, Naruto stopped digging. Panting hard, Naruto stood up and looked around.

"I can't find her…" he whispered.

"I wouldn't say that," Kakashi said as he stood beside Naruto.

"Kakashi-sensei? What are you doing here? I saw the building collapse on you!" Naruto said.

Kakashi pointed to where a pile of rubble was moving. Naruto yelled and scuttled back behind Sakura as Sasuke got out a kunai knife and stood in a fighting stance.

"What's that?" Sakura said.

"It's that Ishimaru guy!" Naruto shouted, and Sakura gasped.

"I thought he didn't survive!" Sakura said.

Kakashi placed Araile with Sakura and walked towards the moving pile of rubble.

"Kakashi-sensei, watch out!" Naruto said, still hiding behind Sakura.

Suddenly, a hand flew out of the pile and grabbed Kakashi's leg and his eye widened in surprise. A head came out; a neck and shoulders following after.

"I will not get beaten by a runt!" Ishimaru yelled.

"Hm, I thought you were already beaten" Kakashi said in playful mockery and Ishimaru looked at Kakashi with pure hatred in his eyes.

"Once I get out I will kill every one of you!" Ishimaru cried.

"Oh?" Kakashi said.

A sudden gust of air swirled around Kakashi, and Sakura shouted loudly. Ishimaru was about to say something else, but shook violently and hunched over, now dead; a kunai stuck out from the middle of his back with a small hand gripping the handle. Kakashi stepped back in surprise as Araile stood behind Ishimaru, panting and holding the kunai.

She looked around and saw Kakashi standing there with a surprised look on his face. Araile blinked and concentrated on picking pieces of rubble out of her white and black hair.

"Oh, you're there" Kakashi said as if snapping out of a dream.

He then took out some bandages and kneeled in front of his ward; inspecting the scratches that she had collected. Some were minor, but Araile had also collected a few gashes; one being a deep gash on her shoulder. Araile glared at Kakashi, and sat still as he bandaged her wounds.

"Come on" Kakashi said while he walked towards the others after he finished bandaging the small girl up. Araile smiled and jumped onto her caretaker's shoulder.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: This chapter will be longer then the previous chapter :)**

**Disclaimer: I only own Araile and Takumi**

Sakura relaxed slightly when Kakashi walked towards them.

"It's Araile! She's alright!" Naruto yelled as he noticed the bandaged girl with their sensei.

Sasuke looked at Kakashi with a shocked look on his face. Suddenly Araile jumped on Sasuke happily, causing him to fall over. She smiled and began to purr; Sasuke smiling as well. She then got off Sasuke and sat down beside him, careful to not tear the bandages Kakashi had put on earlier. Araile looked around and noticed that everyone was very dirty, their clothes smeared with blood and dust. She looked up at Kakashi and grinned slightly, finding it silly about everyone's appearance.

"Well, I think we all should go home and clean ourselves up" Kakashi said, and his ward nodded.

"Yay! Finally, a nice hot bath!" Sakura cheered.

"Yeah! Now I can eat all the ramen I want!" Naruto shouted and Araile twitched her tail, giggling as Sakura punched Naruto on the back of his head.

"Let's get going" Kakashi said as he began walking down a trail that led into a forest.

Araile ran after Kakashi and jumped onto his shoulders, and the rest of Team 7 followed. While Kakashi walked, he took out his book and began reading and soon the sky began to darken as Team 7 continued walking. As the evening wore on, everybody seemed to be getting tired from all that walking; Naruto was practically crawling on the ground. Araile looked back at the others and tapped Kakashi on the side of his head. When he looked at the girl, she pointed silently towards the others. Kakashi sighed and stopped walking.

"I guess we should stop for the night," Kakashi said as he sat down, still reading his book.

Naruto landed on the ground with a dull _thud_. Sakura laid on her back with her arms crossed under her head and Sasuke sat on the ground.

Araile jumped off Kakashi and settled herself beside him. He checked her bandages and seeing that everything was good, decided to take them off. She stretched, happy of being free from those itchy and restricting bandages. A gentle breeze blew, making a small leaf land on Araile's nose; making her sneeze. Sakura giggled a bit as Araile rubbed at her nose, a tickling sensation from the intruding leaf still there.

Before she were about to say, "excuse me", a loud howl suddenly came from above in the trees. Everybody jumped at least a mile into the air, except for Kakashi, who just looked up.

"What was that?" Sakura said, shaking as Araile stared up into the trees.

"I'll go find out!" Araile said as she ran to the closest tree and got ready to climb it.

"No, you are not" Kakashi said as he grabbed the top of his ward's shirt, preventing her from climbing the mighty green giant.

She struggled to get away, but stopped.

"Fine" she said with her arms crossed, her ears flat against her head in defeat.

"That's better" Kakashi said as he let go of her shirt, but Araile smirked and then exploded in a small puff of smoke.

"Hey! Did Araile-chan just use a shadow-clone jutsu?" Naruto asked.

"Naruto you idiot, what does it look like?" Sasuke chastised.

"Figures" Kakashi sighed.

Up high in the trees, Araile watched the team as they had just found out about her clone, and giggled quietly. Another howl sounded and the team jumped again, and Araile looked up into the darkness and saw a pair of glowing grey eyes. A diamond-shaped head appeared, then a body, and ended at a tail with the tip being in an arrow-shape. She smiled and reached out to touch the creature's red jewel on its forehead and the creature purred loudly.

"You're the creature that I rescued from those two ninjas," Araile said, now rubbing the creature behind its ears.

The creature walked up to her and began licking her face. Araile giggled softly, then harder and harder. The creature suddenly stopped licking her and growled softly, its gaze locked on something behind the small girl. She stopped laughing and looked behind her, already having a good idea who it was.

Kakashi stood behind Araile with an angry look on his face. She gave him a small sheepish smile, and a small movement caught her eye. The creature suddenly jumped onto her lap and gazed openly at Kakashi.

Kakashi looked surprised, as did his ward. The creature gave Kakashi a small growl before leaping off into some branches, the sound of its paw steps disappearing. Kakashi continued glaring at his ward, and she averted her eyes. Kakashi suddenly picked Araile up and put her over his shoulder, like a sack of potatoes. She squealed a little bit and hit her small fists against his back as Kakashi began to descend by jumping from branch from branch.

Finally, Kakashi reached the ground and put Araile down. She looked around and started to laugh as she pointed towards Naruto. Naruto was on his stomach, shouting out for help with the creature on his back, calmly cleaning a paw. She managed to finally stop laughing and sat up, then the creature jumped off Naruto and ran over to her.

Araile yelped in surprise as the creature knocked her on her back and began licking at the girl's face. Araile began laughing again, and squirmed as the creature continued licking her. Finally, the creature got off her and begun to wash itself. She rubbed her face on her shirt as she looked at Kakashi.

"Can we keep it Kakashi? Please?" Araile asked.

Kakashi thought for a moment before ruffling the girl's hair. She smiled, knowing that it was an automatic_ 'yes'_. She looked back at the creature, which was now resting beside her.

"I need to give you a name," Araile thought out loud.

"I know, let's name it Naruto!" Naruto said and Araile wrinkled her nose at Naruto.

"I know! I'm gonna call you Takumi" she said.

Takumi purred quietly, and she began to smile but was interrupted by a yawn. She relaxed onto her back and stared up at the night sky, her eyes began to get heavy as she curled up beside Takumi.

"Well, I think Araile has the right idea. Let's get some sleep" Kakashi said.

"Finally, some…" Naruto started to say, but couldn't finish because he fell asleep.

Soon, everyone else was fast asleep as well, including Kakashi. As Araile entered the Land of Nod, she began to have the strangest dream. Her body twitched as images flashed through your head.

* * *

_A young boy was standing on a cliff facing a smoldering house, and watched as the house continued to burn. The boy's black hair swayed in the breeze as his sharp ears picked up some rustling in some bushes nearby. The fire finally burnt out. A group of ninjas came out of the bushes and ran to the burnt ruins of the once standing house. They began rummaging through the rubble, hoping to find any survivors. _

_The boy smiled, obviously pleased. _

_One of the ninjas called out to the other ninjas, and held something in his arms. As the young boy watched intently, the ninjas rushed off with a little baby girl in the ninja's arms. _

_"Until we meet again, little sister"_ _the young boy said with a small grin and walked off, disappearing into the darkness._

* * *

As the awful dream ended, Araile slowly started to open her eyes. She saw a blurry image of Takumi cleaning himself beside her. The girl's head pounded as her eyes started to burn, and instinctively she began rubbing her eyes. As soon as Araile stopped rubbing her eyes, her eyes began to sting even worse. She yelped as she held trembling hands over her eyes.

A hand suddenly pressed against Araile's forehead, and her ears twitched.

"Hm, a fever" a voice said.

She recognized that voice as Sasuke's, who had probably seen her rubbing her eyes. Araile stopped rubbing one eye and looked up, but ended up squinting because everything seemed very bright.

"Alright everyone, let's get going" Kakashi said.

"Kakashi-sensei, I think you should take a look at Araile. I think there's something wrong with her" Sasuke said as he glanced at his childhood friend.

"Oh? Let's see" Kakashi said as he bent down in front of the small girl.

She began to shake as Kakashi put his hand on her forehead, like Sasuke did earlier.

"A high fever, huh?" Kakashi said quietly.

Araile could feel Takumi giving her arm a small lick while whining softly. She grunted slightly as Kakashi picked her up and situated her on his back. The team began walking toward Konoha, and Araile fell asleep to the gentle rocking motion of Kakashi walking. As she slept, she unconsciously buried her head into his back, and Kakashi smiled slightly.

After a couple hours of walking, the team finally reached the village of Konoha.

"Ah, finally! We're here!" Naruto exclaimed.

Sasuke smirked and walk off towards his house as they entered Konoha.

"Where's Iruka-sensei? I wanna find him so we can get some ramen!" Naruto said.

"Well, I'm going to find Sasuke" Sakura said, putting her hands on her hips.

"Hey Sakura, wanna have ramen with me?" Naruto asked hopefully, and Sakura began running at full-speed after Sasuke.

"Hey Sakura! Wait up!" Naruto shouted as he chased after Sakura.

"They'll never learn" Kakashi sighed and continued walking.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I only own Araile and Takumi**

As Kakashi and Team 7 walked, Araile opened her eyes slowly, hoping they wouldn't sting. The young girl smiled slightly when her golden orbs did in fact not sting, but her head continued to throb. She buried her head in Kakashi's back as voices appeared around the girl. Araile's ear twitched slightly as she heard Naruto shouting for Sakura to wait for him, and the sounds of Sakura's feet hitting the ground at a fast pace.

Then it was just Araile, Kakashi and Takumi. She could feel Kakashi walking again; she yawned and decided to get some more sleep in the already comfortable position the girl was in on her caretaker's back.

Finally Kakashi entered his home. Araile felt Kakashi shifting her on his back and then putting the girl on something soft and firm. Her ear twitched as a door opened and closed softly. She laid still for a couple moments, then opened her eyes. She looked around, relieved that she were back in Kakashi's house, and smiled when she saw that she was lying on her bed in her small bedroom, just to the side of Kakashi's room.

Nothing really special struck Araile when looking at her small room: the bed was against the white wall, a small square window faced her on the other wall, and a small dresser that held her clothes and other possessions that she had collected over the years.

Suddenly, Takumi sprang out from a corner. Araile gave a small shriek as Takumi began licking the girl all over, making her laugh and pushed Takumi off her. She slowly got up from her bed and walked to the bedroom door that held an array of pictures she had drawn, and opened the door. Noticing that the house was empty, Araile and Takumi started to play, which then lasted for a couple hours. Takumi, tired from all the playing, plopped down beside her bed and fell fast asleep. Araile curled up on top of her bed and started to doze off as warm sunlight shone on the back of her neck.

After a couple hours went by, something suddenly caught the girl's attention. Her ear twitched as she heard some commotion coming from outside the small house. She got up and walked over to the window to get a look. Araile's eyes opened wide as she saw Team 7 fighting off a group of rogue ninjas, their headband symbols scratched out.

She watched as Sasuke and Kakashi fought the ninjas, while Naruto had transformed into several clones of himself and attacked a ninja that had managed to escape. Araile then noticed Kakashi has shouted something to Sakura and pointed towards the small house. This caused the small girl to gasp and fall back, landing on her butt on the floor. Takumi then woke up and padded over to his friend, licking her face. Araile clutched Takumi close to her as her sensitive ears picked up a series of bangs, yells, and curses.

Fear began to set a chilling blanket over Araile's stomach as the bangs became steadily louder. Takumi, sensing his friend's fear, stood protectively over Araile; growling deep in his throat as his tail lashed back and forth, just daring any of the rogue ninjas outside to come in and attack them.

Suddenly, the door opened with a _bang_, and two forms slunk into the small living room. Carefully standing, Araile crept towards her bedroom door. Araile poked her head out of the bedroom and slowly tiptoed down the hall, hoping to not make a sound. Takumi's eyes narrowed slightly as he growled all the while nudging the girl back into her room, but she shooed away his nudging nose.

Another _bang_ echoed from the living room, and her nerves screamed at her to run and hide or to run and find Kakashi and Team 7.

Araile silently made her way into the living room and squeezed into a darkened corner, watching as the two rogue ninjas tore down some stuff. She covered her head with her arms as pieces of wood flew at Araile's hiding corner. Takumi let out a roar and suddenly leapt out from the shadows of the hallway and lunged at the two ninjas, claws sharp and extended.

"No Takumi!" Araile hissed as she tried to grab Takumi but missed.

Takumi then suddenly yelped as one of the ninja quickly stabbed his kunai into Takumi's leg. Takumi backed off, yelping and snarling as crimson blood dripped steadily from the wound. Araile gasped, but quickly put her hands over her mouth as the ninja's heads perked up. Both ninjas smirked and walked towards where she where hiding.

Takumi snarled and leapt at the ninjas again. The ninjas cried out as Takumi bit and clawed them as he protected his hiding friend with everything he was worth. Araile cried out in pain as a stray shurikan slashed her arm.

One ninja began to laugh.

"Hey, wasn't this the little runt that we were having fun with?" he said as he gestured to Araile's shaking body.

"Yeah, it was. Let's have some fun!" the other ninja laughed as he took out a kunai.

The first ninja did the same, and both raced towards Araile. Her tail twitched as the ninjas ran around the girl, sometimes laughing and sometimes lashing out and cutting her body with their weapons. Without warning, the first ninja stopped behind her and raised his knife. Takumi growled loudly and Araile looked back with wide eyes as the ninja smirked.

"Nighty-night" the ninja sneered as he slammed the handle of the kunai knife against the back of her head.

Araile yelped loudly as white-hot pain erupted from the back of her head and raced down to the very tips of her toes. She slowly begun to see spots of colour dance around her vision, then everything went black. The ninjas smirked to each other as the girl's body went limp. She fell to the floor, smacking her head against a chair. Blood trickled from the corner of her head as Takumi leaped in between the fallen girl and the ninjas, growling deeply as if daring them to come any closer.

Suddenly, the door burst open. Takumi licked his injured leg and sat beside his friend's unconscience body as the two ninjas cried out in pain as shurikan flew at them. Four figures charged at them, and Takumi watched silently as the ninjas ended up running away with their tails tucked between their legs, all bloody and bruised.

One figure then walked towards Araile and Takumi. Another figure muttered something, and Takumi bowed his head and stepped away.

A sudden burst of purple light lit up the room, and when the light disappeared Kakashi's ward was gone. Takumi barked in surprise and began sniffing frantically around the room, trying to find his friend.


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I only own Araile, Shinrai, Meiyo, Seishin, Kazoku and Taiyou**

Araile opened her eyes and groaned. As she sat up slowly, she looked around at her surroundings. This was definitely not Konoha, or Kakashi's house.

"Where am I?" she said in confusion.

Looking around, Araile seemed to have landed in a clearing; trees surrounded her and a small pond was sparkling in the sun a couple of feet in front of her.

"Water!" Araile exclaimed as she ran towards the pond.

She knelt beside the pool and cupped the water in her small hands. Her reflection wavered and looked back at the girl. Her ear twitched as footsteps appeared rapidly behind her. Araile growled and whipped around, thinking it was the rogue ninjas but tripped over a root and fell over. She yelpped as her clumsiness landed her on her butt.

Araile clamped her eyes shut and put her arms over her head, waiting for a fatal strike. Some ninja you were! Kakashi always told you to stand up, and to not let the enemy know she was scared. Now she was trembling like a leaf.

"Peace, child. We mean you no harm," a female voice said gently from above the shaking girl.

"We are only here to help you," a male voice added in.

Araile looked up to see a tall, young woman with pale skin and long green hair that was tied in a braid, and was dressed in a blue kimono. Her big orange eyes looked at Araile with sympathy.

A young man stood there beside the woman. He was the same height as her with pale skin and long, light blue hair with violet eyes. His eyes too seemed to look at Araile with an equal amount of sympathy.

"W-who are you? Where am I? Where are my friends?" Araile whimpered, shaking as tears stung her eyes.

"Oh you poor child. You must be scared to death!" the man said as he knelt in front of her.

"My name is Seishin," the man introduced as he brushed Araile's bangs out of her eyes.

"This is my sister, Kazoku" Seishin said, gesturing to the woman.

Seishin appeared to be wearing the same thing as his sister, except his kimono was green.

"What is your name, child?" Kazoku asked in a soft voice.

"Araile" Araile answered shyly.

"Araile, what a pretty name" Kazoku exclaimed.

The small girl gave Kazoku a small smile as Seishin offered Araile his hand and helped her up.

"Where am I?" she asked and she held Seishin's hand.

"You are in the Land of Mortality," Kazoku said and Araile looked around with wide eyes.

"Come now, you must be hungry" Seishin said as he started to walk with her hand still in his.

As the sun began to set, Seishin and Kazoku led Araile into a small hut and as she enter the hut, she gave out a small gasp.

"Hey Seishin-chan, whose that?" a high pitched voice asked from a darkened corner.

Cowering from shyness, Araile hid behind Seishin's pant leg as another voice came from the same corner.

"Pah, its probably another weakling".

Kazoku lit a lantern, illuminating the hut and two boys and a girl appeared out of the darkness.

"Children, this is Araile. She will be staying with us," Seishin said as he steered the girl over to the other children.

The first boy came up to Araile. The boy's fierce red eyes inspected her face and she shyly looked away, causing the boy scoff and walk away to sit in a chair in a corner. The boy had short, dark blue hair with white streaks and he seemed to be the oldest of the group. Araile twitched her tail nervously as the other two came near her. Seishin sat down on a mat and took something out as Kazoku started making some food.

"Hi! My name's Meiyo" the girl bubbled.

Araile's ear twitched slightly at the girl's high voice.

"Oh, you have kitty ears! That's so cool!" Meiyo gushed.

"Can you not see, Meiyo? The girl is a cat demon," the boy with fierce red eyes scoffed.

Meiyo stuck her tongue out at him.

"Nobody was asking you!" Meiyo retorted as she turned to Araile and said, "that's my big brother, Taiyou. He thinks he's so cool just because he's older".

Araile look over to Taiyou and shrugged.

"Anyways, this is Shinrai. He's a demon, just like you" Meiyo continued as a boy with long purple hair and green eyes stood patiently beside Meiyo.

Araile gazed at the boy and Shinrai looked at her. Both of their eyes met, and Shinrai looked away as a faint line of pink ran across his face.

"Shinrai is a wolf demon" Meiyo finished.

"A-are you and your brother demons too?" Araile asked quietly, still shy and Meiyo nodded vigorously.

"Yep. We're both dog demons," she said, proudly.

Meiyo did look like her brother; they both had short blue hair and red eyes, except Meiyo had her hair in two pigtails.

"Children, come over here. I've got a story to tell" Seishin said.

"Oh boy! A story! Seishin tells the best stories!" Meiyo told Araile excitedly.

She ran over to where Seishin was sitting and sat beside him. Taiyo looked up, but stayed where he was.

'_I wonder where Kakashi and the others are. I really miss them,'_ Araile thought to herself as she looked down, ears slightly lowered.

Someone suddenly grabbed her hand, and she looked up in surprise.

"Let's go. You can sit beside me," Shinrai said shyly.

Araile nodded and blushed faintly as Shinrai led her to where Seishin was sitting. Both children sat down on a brightly coloured mat and Kazoku smiled as Seishin cleared his throat.

"Alright now. This story has been passed down from generation to generation. It's a story about how a warrior managed to defeat a great snake demon" Seishin started.

Araile could feel Shinrai trembling slightly with excitement, causing her to smile slightly.


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Naruto**

Meiyo clapped her hands in excitement and Seishin smiled before he began his story.

* * *

_"A long time ago in a castle far, far away, there was a warrior. Alas, this warrior was no ordinary warrior; for this warrior had a special gift called the Sight. This gift enabled him to do three things: to look through the eyes of any animal he wanted, to see the past, present, and future, and to call upon the elements to help him._

_The lord of the castle always called upon this warrior to help him in battles. The lord, whose name was Himitsu, was a good fighter, but he was not as good as the warrior. _

_But this warrior was also a half-demon. His human mother gave the name _Wakusei _to her baby, and that baby turned into a warrior. Wakusei was walking along the castle corridor when he bumped into someone. _

_'"Oh, I'm sorry,"' Wakusei apologized. _

_"'That is alright. I was being clumsy"' a familiar voice said. _

_It was the lord's daughter, Sainou. Wakusei was quite fond of Sainou and couldn't help but blush a little bit. _

_'"My father wanted to talk to you, Wakusei'" Sainou said. _

_The warrior nodded his head briefly and walked to where the lord was resting". _

* * *

"Was Sainou beautiful, Seishin?" Meiyo asked, interrupting the story's plot.

"Stop interrupting, Meiyo" Taiyo scolded.

Meiyo stuck her tongue out at her brother, causing Seishin to laugh and put a hand on Meiyo's head.

"Yes, Sainou was beautiful. Now, let's continue with the story".

* * *

_"As soon as Wakusei entered the lord's room, he immediately sensed that something was wrong. The lord was slumped on his side, blood pouring from a wound in his head. A creature stood over the lord, its fangs glittering in the candlelight. Wakusei unsheathed his mighty sword and ran at the creature. The creature hissed and slithered out of the way, smashing into a wall in the process."_

_"Suddenly, Wakusei heared a scream. He suddenly realizes that Sainou was just outside. Before Wakusei could do anything, the creature got hold of Sainou and slithered out of the castle. Wakusei realized that the creature was a great snake demon called _Uugi_. Wakusei ran outside, just in time to see Uugi slither away into the darkened forest. Wakusei then lifted his hands to the sky, calling upon the Sight to help him. _

_'"In the name of the power within me, I call upon the Sight to call upon the element of snow!"' Wakusei shouted. _

_Suddenly, the wind started to howl as dark clouds rolled in. A snowflake fell, then another, then another and another, until a fierce winter storm started. Wakusei heard a loud and peircing howl and a feminine scream. Wakusei stopped the storm and ventured outside. But he did not have to venture out for long. _

_The snake demon had frozen solide and Sainou had fainted. Wakusei picked up Sainou and walked to the castle, where they lived happily ever after"._

* * *

Seishin finished his story with a sigh and looking around, he saw that Meiyo, Araile and Shinrai had fallen asleep. Taiyou got up and picked up his sister and Meiyo grunted, but continued to sleep. Araile's ear twitched as Kazoku opened the door for them.

"Where are they going?" Araile asked sleepily as she rubbed her eye and sat up.

"They have always slept outside" Seishin answered as Kazoku closed the door after them.

"Now, time to get some sleep" Seishin said to Araile, and covered the small girl with a blanket.

Araile smiled slightly and nodded before rolling onto her side. Letting out a small sigh, her eyes drifted shut as she fell asleep. Seishin smiled and started to get his bedroll ready. When it was to his liking, he got in and laid on his side.

"You did a good job telling the story, Seishin" Kazoku said softly and Seishin nodded.

* * *

Bird songs began to fill Araile's mind as her eyes opened slowly. Muscles creaked and groaned as she sat up and stretched but heard a small grunt beside her, causing her to jump high in the air and whirl around; her tail fluffed out.

Relaxing, Araile saw that it was just Shinrai and a faint line of pink appeared on her face as she looked at the young wolf demon.

"Good morning" a gentle voice greeted.

Araile turned around again and smiled as Kazoku had awoken before her and was making some food for breakfast.

"Did you sleep well?" Kazoku asked her, and Araile answered with a shy nod.

Her stomach suddenly rumbled, demanding that she put food in it since she hadn't had any food since her fever. Her stomach rumbled again, and Araile's ears laid back in embarrassment as Kazoku gave a small laugh.

"You must be hungry. Here, I made this while my brother was telling you the story" she chuckled as she handed the embarrassed girl a package.

Araile's tail twitched as she unwrapped the package to see two balls of rice in the centre. She took a small bite of the rice-ball and looked around, chewing happily. She laid eyes on a still sleeping Shinrai, but Seishin was not in the room.

"Where is Seishin?" Araile asked Kazoku after swallowing.

"Probably outside training" Kazoku answered as she prepared more food.

Just then the door burst open as Meiyo marched in, Taiyou following at a more mature pace.

"Good morning Kazoku!" Meiyo chirped happily.

Kazoku laughed and replied "good morning, Meiyo. My, it seems like you're in a good mood today".

Meiyo nodded.

"It's because Seishin just said that he would take us on a walk!" she said, obviously excited.

Araile shuffled, still feeling a bit shy and out of place around the others and Meiyo finally noticed her and grabbed her hand.

"Come on Araile! Let's go!" Meiyo squealed as she pulled Araile towards the door.

"Uh, ok" Araile murmured, a bit nervous.

"Go on you three. Have fun" Kazoku laughed as she shut the door behind Taiyou.

"Aren't Kazoku's rice-balls good?" Meiyo asked Araile, and she nodded.

Meiyo continued to talk and ask Araile questions, still holding her hand and pulling her through the forest, Taiyou walking leisurely behind the two girls.


	16. Chapter 16

"Well now, I see everyone is awake" a voice said behind Araile.

"Seishin! Can we go for our walk now?" Meiyo asked as she jumped up and down, excited as Seishin nodded.

"How was your sleep, Araile?" Seishin suddenly asked, turning his attention to their new guest.

"Um..it was alright" Araile answered.

"Alright, let's go" Seishin declared as he began walking.

Meiyo cheered loudly and ran to catch up with Seishin, Taiyo following slightly behind.

"Come on, Araile! Hurry up!" Meiyo shouted, looking back at Araile.

"Uh, yeah" she said, standing up and running to catch up with the siblings and Seishin

"Today is a beautiful day" Seishin exclaimed as he led the small group into the forest.

A chorus of agreement reached his ears as the small group continued walking. A couple of hours later, Seishin led all them into a small clearing.

Araile's eyes widened in surprise when they landed on a whole assortment of katanas, kunais, shurikan, and any other ninja weapons.

"Seishin, what are all of these?" she asked in confusion.

"This is where we train," Seishin said, smiling at the confused girl.

"Seishin, have you seen where my shurikan went?" Meiyo said, looking around the clearing.

"They are probably where you left them last time," Seishin said, laughing.

Meiyo scratched her head, deep in thought headed off to look for her shurikan.

"Araile, come here please" Seishin called to Araile as he picked up a katana in an emerald green sheath.

She walked over to him, carefully stepping over the weapons that littered the grass.

"I want you to have this" Seishin said as he handed her the katana, along with a small dagger.

She took the katana out of its sheath and marveled at its beauty.

"You will be practicing with that katana and dagger from now on, okay?" Seishin informed and Araile nodded, still looking at the katana and all its beauty.

"You got the same weapons as me," a shy voice spoke up from behind her, and Araile turned around and smiled.

"Good morning, Shinrai" she said, shyly.

Shinrai shifted a little and looked around, murmuring a faint '_g'morning_' as she put the katana back in its sheath.

"I'll help you with your katana" Shinrai finally said after a few moments of silence.

"Okay!" Araile happily agreed as Shinrai led her to a spot where there weren't any weapons on the ground. Shinrai began to teach you ways to practice with a katana, and after a while both children began fighting with both of their weapons.

* * *

2 years sped gone by, and Araile grew fast like all half and whole demons.

Her hair grew, and now reached her mid-back. Her attitude has developed in the 2 years, and now she was an out-spoken, hyper, fun-loving 11-year-old. During the 2 years, Araile somehow got Seishin's permission to pierce her left ear; the piercing was Meiyo's idea, and Araile liked and agreed to it.

The earring was gold with 3 beads in the middle. 2 beads were blue, while the third bead was red.

Meiyo and Shinrai grew in the 2 years as well. Meiyo's hair had grown longer and now she kept all of it in a single ponytail down her back. Shinrai's light green eyes were now a deep green, and kept his hair in a single braid which reached his lower back. Most of Shinrai's shyness had gone, but replacing that shyness is kindness and compassion.

Taiyo unfortunately stayed the same since Araile met him. She don't really talk to Taiyo much, but when she do he is always rude to her. Taiyo had treated poor Shinrai worst of all by either punching Shinrai or making rude comments. She have tried her best to help her poor friend, but in the end she got the beating.

Shinrai has apologized numerous times, but Araile always told him, _"that's alright. One day, we'll get stronger then we'll show him". _

Every memory of her friends in Konoha were now gone. The only memory she had now is a big explosion, and a woman screaming. When she tried to remember, her head began to hurt. It always felt like a dagger slicing right through the middle of her skull. When this side effect occurred, it would force her to sit out when her and Shinrai were practicing.

Seishin and Kazoku have also noticed this and Kazoku has tried many remedies, but nothing seemed to work.

* * *

"Araile? Araile! Snap out of it!" Shinrai said, a bit annoyed as Araile snapped out of a daydream and back to reality.

"Sorry Shinrai, I was just thinking" she murmured as she took out her katana and got into a fighting stance.

Araile and Shinrai practised fighting with her katanas for about an hour when her mind started wondering again. In Araile's minds eye, she could see fire and heard someone screaming.

White-hot pain shot through her head, causing her to cry out. She dropped the katana and clutched her head, the katana hitting the grass with a sharp _'clang'_. She dropped to her knees; a slight ringing sound resonating in her ears. She could dimly hear Shinrai calling her name, and feeling a hand being put on her shoulder.

As time passed the pain slowly faded away, leaving her breathless and sweat rolling down her cheek.

"You were thinking about it again, weren't you?" Shinrai said gently as he sat beside his friend and she glanced at him.

"It's not my fault. I can't help it" Araile sighed.

Shinrai stood up after 5 minutes of being in deep thought.

"Wait here. I'll get Kazoku to lend me some ointment," he stated as he ran off, making her groan.

That ointment always smelt really funny and tasted disgusting. She looked to where Shinrai was and began walking around the training grounds.

"_Why do I always think about that certain place? It's like a distant memory, but yet...I can't exactly remember what that memory was about. Why does my head always hurt every time I think about it?_" she thought to herself as she wandered further and further amongst the trees.

Araile finally stopped when you reached an old oak tree; it's long branches reaching out to collect the sun's rays.

"Hello, my friend" she said quietly as she touched the rough bark.

Araile came to this particular tree when she wanted to think, relax, or if she just wanted a peaceful place to sleep. She jumped onto one of the lower braches and sat down.

She leaned against the trunk as the wind blew, making some of the branches sway and the leaves flutter. She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep as a fat fuzzy bumblebee buzzed past her tail.

A bird's sharp twittering woke her from her peaceful slumber as Araile's eyes snapped open as a bead of sweat rolled down her face. Breathing hard, she looked around. Someone stood in front of her staring down at the girl, and she gave a low growl. A hood covered the majority of it's face.

"What do you want?" Araile growled, getting up.

The stranger pushed the hood back, showing its face. She could tell that the stranger was a man, probably as old as Seishin.

She looked at his facial features.

_His eyes_.

His gold eyes seemed to bore into her. It was as if this man was looking into her soul. She hesitated before she spoke again, her tail twitching nervously.

"What do you want?" Araile said again, louder this time.

The man continued to gaze at her, making her shift uncomfortably.

"Araile, it's been a long time," the man spoke, his voice deep and smooth.

"How do you know my name? And what do you mean, 'it's _been a long time'_?" she asked now getting up.

The man blinked slowly and took a step towards Araile, and she growled and took a step back, her back hitting against the tree trunk.

"Don't you remember me?" the man said as he now stood in front of her, his golden eyes boring into her again.

Araile tried to suppress a shiver. The man then reached out with his hand and faintly outlined her facial features; her eyes, her nose, her mouth, and even her ears, which were laying flat against her head.

"Stop!" she stuttered as she tried to jump down from her branch.

"You look so much like mother," he murmured as he took a step back.

"W-what?" Araile breathed, frozen to her spot as her eyes widened.

"You look like mother," he repeated, "while I took after father," the man sighed, looking at Araile again.

"_This is crazy! This man is crazy! Who is he?_" she thought.

"Who are you!" she said, feeling slightly braver as her hands pressed against the tree's trunk.

The man stared at her, his coat blowing slightly in a breeze.

"It's been a long time, sister," he said simply.

Araile's heart skipped a beat as he said this.

"Wh-what?" she stuttered, heart beating fast.

The man sighed and rubbed his temples.

"So they haven't told you" he said, as if it was a pity.

"Told me what!" she shouted, shaking slightly.

The man sighed again, pushing a hand through his hair.

"Never mind" he said, causing Araile to growl.

She suddenly heard her name being called, and her eyes darted underneath the giant old oak tree to see Meiyo. She quickly looked back in front of her but gasped in surprise, for the man had disappeared. Araile blinked a couple times, just to make sure he had in fact disappeared.

Yup. Not there.

"Araile! Come on!" Meiyo called again.

She jumped down from the branch she were on and landed in front of her friend.

"Sorry Meiyo" Araile said a bit sheepishly.

"That's ok" Meiyo chirped, "just be glad that it wasn't Taiyo who came. Believe me, you don't wanna know what he does" Meiyo added, her voice getting lower and lower to add a scary effect, while her hands started clawing at the air.

The two girls looked at each other as a minute of awkward silence went by, then bursted out laughing.


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I only own the OC's from the Land of Mortality and Araile.**

By the time Araile and Meiyo finished laughing, their home was already visable.

_"Home…why does it always sound funny whenever I say that word? I've been here as long as I can remember…unless…"_ Araile thought, until a stabbing pain sliced through her head for a second time that day.

"Araile! Oh no, not again!" Meiyo cried as she helped her quivering friend into the small house.

"Kazoku! Araile's head is hurting again!" Meiyo shouted loudly as she helped Araile through the door.

Everyone jumped up, except for Taiyo who stayed where he was.

"I will go get my medicine" Kazoku said as she hurried away into another room.

Seishin took Araile in his arms and laid her onto his sleeping mat. Her head continued throbbing, every pulse sending pure waves of agony through her head.

"_Please…someone…make it stop! Make the pain go away! PLEASE!" _she cried out desperately in her head as tears began to run down her cheeks.

"This looks bad. Araile's head has never hurt for this long," Shinrai said as he watched Araile through eyes full of worry and Meiyo nodded silently.

Finally Kazoku entered the room, her arms full of bottles, mixtures, and other things unknown to everyone, even Seishin. Kazoku knelt down in front of Araile, mixing up a weird smelling paste in a bowl.

"Taiyo, could you please hold this for me?" Kazoku asked and Taiyo scoffed, but held the bowl.

"Thank you" Kazoku said as she took some of the mixture in her hands and spread it across the trembling girl's forehead.

Araile's muscles twitched as a cool sensation washed over her and finally the pain faded away, leaving her barely conscious. At last, her mind gave in to the comforting darkness.

"There now. She should be better after a nights rest" Kazoku said as she put away her remedies.

"Everyone, time to get some sleep" Seishin said as he picked the limp girl up and set her down carefully on her own sleeping mat.

Everyone bidded their goodnights and settled in to sleep, Meiyo and her brother shuffling outside. Seishin placed his sleeping mat near Araile's, causing Kazoku to raise one eyebrow.

"Just in case something is wrong," he offered to his sister's unvoiced question.

Kazoku smiled and drifted off to sleep.

Seishin looked at Araile and murmered quietly, "I'm sorry, Araile. I know what your mind is trying to do…it's trying to remember all those memories that were lost".

Seishin reached over and gently pushed some strands of hair away from the sleeping girl's face. Satisfied that she would not wake, Seishin closed his eyes and went to sleep.

* * *

_The sun shone brightly, and there was barely a cloud in the sky. A green meadow with thousands of colourful flowers swayed to and fro in the warm breeze. _

_Araile, in a small white sundress, knelt down to pick a particularly bright blue flower. _

_At age 4 she were a small little thing, barely reaching Kakashi's knee._

_"Araile! Araile!" a voice called. _

_She looked up, ears twitching in different directions in order to hear better. A grin formed on her face when she saw a figure running towards her. _

_"Hey Sasuke!" she waved wildly until her best friend stopped in front of her. _

_"Sorry I came late. Iruka-sensei made us stay longer," Sasuke said. _

_"That's alright. Come on, I found a great place to catch those really tiny fish!" Araile said excitedly as she grabbed Sasuke's hand and began to run towards some houses. _

_"I can't play now. I have to train in order to become stronger," Sasuke said as he pulled his hand away from her grip. _

_"Oh…okay" she said, her ears drooping down in disappointment. _

_"Sorry, I gotta go. Bye!" Sasuke shouted as he ran towards the training area near the Konoha ninja academy. _

_"Bye" she whispered sadly, and began to walk home._

* * *

Araile's eyes snapped open as she laid on her back, staring at the ceiling.

_"Why do I keep on having these dreams? Who is this 'Sasuke' anyway? I don't even know him and yet, I keep on having dreams about him and me playing together" _she thought as she finally got up slowly, and put her sleeping mat away.

"I see your finally awake" a voice said behind her.

Araile jumped and turned around, muscles tense.

"Oh, Seishin, good morning" she said sheepishly as she relaxed.

Araile then tilted her head to one side and asked "what do you mean _'it's about time'_?"

"You've been sleeping for three days," Seishin laughed as he handed her some plump rice balls.

She grinned and eagerly took them, and one-by-one popped them into her mouth, making Seishin laugh at this and ruffled Araile's hair. She let out a low growl and fixed her hair while Seishin opened the door.

"Araile, come with me" he said as he walked out the door.

"Uh…okay" she answered slowly as she followed him, getting more confused by the minute.

After about 15 minutes of walking beside the silent man, Araile couldn't take it anymore and asked, "Seishin, where are we going?"

Seishin stopped suddenly, making Araile almost trip over her own feet.

"Stand right in front of me" Seishin ordered as he directed her to a spot right in front of him.

"Now close your eyes and concentrate; concentrate on the plants, the animals, the trees, everything, including me" Seishin instructed as he put a hand on her head.

Araile closed her eyes and did as the man said, and began concentrating.

Suddenly, she felt Seishin's hand hit the middle of her chest. She let out a loud yelp as little shocks of energy ran through her body, becoming more and more painful by the second. Her body felt strange; first hot, then cold. Sweat beaded on her forehead, and she weren't sure if it was because of being hot or from the pain.

Araile squirmed, but Seishin's hand on her head kept her in place.

"Almost done" Seishin said, and she could detect a hint of strain in his voice.

After what seemed like eternity, Araile felt Seishin remove his grasp from her head and chest. She staggered as her vision darkened into blackness. Seishin caught her falling form and situated her on his back, and started to walk towards the hut. A couple of images flashed through the girl's mind.

* * *

_A man with grey hair, a mask on, and a headband covering his right eye carrying a small girl on his back and entering a large village._

_A toddler making a fort with pillows and a man watching the toddler with a smile on his masked face._

_A child recieving a small blue cat plushie for her birthday._

_A toddler walking towards a masked man with wobbly legs._


	18. Chapter 18

Araile groaned and sat up slowly, blinking away her blurry vision.

"Wow, she looks so different" a voice exclaimed beside her.

"Wha-what happened?" Araile said groggily, bringing a hand up to her head.

"Hey, Araile! You're finally awake!" Meiyo cheered as she plopped down beside her.

_"Finally? What does she mean by that?"_ Araile thought.

"Huh?" she said as she rubbed an eye.

Seishin chuckled and handed the confused girl a small mirror.

"See for yourself" he said as Araile looked into the mirror.

She gasped as she look at her reflection. Her once-white hair and ears had turned into a light blue colour and bangs framed the sides of her face. Her eyes stayed the same, except that they had turned a darker golden colour. Araile turn to Kazoku and blinked, confused.

Kazoku gave a small laugh and said "it's to protect the real you, where we are going. Believe me, you'll be thankful".

Araile's confusion grew even more, making the girl groan. She flopped down on her mat and began to doze as some of the sun's rays seeped through the window.

"You also need a new name," Seishin said as he sat down.

_"A new name? Whats wrong with my old name?"_ Araile thought as she sat up and looked at the man.

Everyone was quiet for a couple of minutes, until Shinrai finally spoke up.

"How about Azami?" he said quietly.

Araile gazed over at her friend and smile a little.

"Yeah, Azami" Araile-now 'Azami'-said.

Seishin smiles and said "then it's settled. Your new name is Azami".

Azami smiled slightly.

A couple of days after her little _'transformation'_, Seishin had called all the children to him.

"What does he want to tell us?" Azami asked Meiyo.

"Maybe…maybe he will give us new weapons," she answered hopefully.

Azami nodded and look at her kantana, which was starting to get a bit dull. They all needed some new weapons.

"We will be going to a place called Konoha to compete in a test that they have called the Chuunin Exams" Seishin said as he took out a box.

For an odd reason, the name _'Konoha'_ seemed familiar to Azami, but she couldn't understand why. She squirmed slightly as Seishin opened the box, and gasped slightly when Seishin took out a couple of masks.

"I will let you pick out the mask you like the best" Seishin said as Kazoku handed him some food.

"What are these for, Seishin?" Shinrai asked as he gingerly took out a mask.

Meiyo put on a mask and made an animalistic howling noise, making Azami giggle.

Azami lightly traced her finger along the edges of her mask. Everyone except for Kazoku and Seishin had picked out a mask.

"This is so cool!" Meiyo exclaimed as she put hers on again.

Azami smiled and put hers on as well, surprised that it fit well.

"Everyone, follow me" Seishin called as he went outside towards the forest.

They all followed him, getting more and more curious by the second. Finally Seishin stopped in front of a shimmering, transparent blue wall. The children peered behind Seishin to see a village on the other side.

"Seishin, what are we doing?" Azami asked, as Seishin stood right in front of the wall.

Seishin looked back at her and smiled.

"Just hold your breath, close your eyes, and step forward," he said as he walked through the wall.

Everyone besides Taiyo and Kazoku, had the same look of shock, fear, and confusion on their faces.

"Uhh…Azami…you go first" Meiyo said nervously as she and Shinrai both pushed their friend towards the wall.

Azami gulped nervously and took a deep breath, closed her eyes and walked through the wall. It felt like she was trying to walk through water; cold and sluggish. Finally, she opened her eyes and saw that she were standing in front of a gate. After a couple of minutes, everyone stood in front of the gate.

"Everyone ready?" Kazoku asked.

Everyone nodded and began walking into the village.

"Seishin, what's the name of this village again?" Meiyo asked as she walked beside Azami.

"Konoha" Seishin answered as you all walked towards a large building.

Azami cocked her head to one side as once again, that name sounded familiar. After a couple minutes of walking, they finally entered the tall building and saw that people were standing in rows and listening to someone who was in the middle talking. A row of adults stood behind that person.

"Ah, just in time. The team from the Land of Mortality, I presume?" the person in the middle indicated to their group.

Seishin nodded and Azami's tail shifted slightly when she noticed one specific team. Before she went off in a daze, Meiyo nudged her in the ribs, making the girl yelp quietly.

"Do you think there is anyone who is cute?" she whispered.

"I don't know. Probably not" Azami whispered back.

Both Azami and Meiyo then erupted into a fit of giggles. Seishin cleared his throat, making her and Meiyo immediately stop giggling, muttering apologies. After the person in the middle (Seishin told Azami that it was the Hokage) finished talking, everyone went up some stairs and stood on a balcony, a railing attached to it. She sat down and leaned against the wall, her eyes darting left and right from her mask.

Azami suddenly jumped in surprise as a large board appeared in front of everyone and everyone watched as the board scrambled everyone's names. Her ear twitched when someone sat beside her.

"Look beside you" she heard Shinrai whisper.

Azami peeked beside her and a low growl arose from the back of her throat.

The man from before was leaning over the railing, a bored expression on his face. Finally, two names popped up on the board, and Azami blinked as she read the names; the first name catching her eye.

_"Sasuke Uchiha? Why does that name sound so familiar?"_ she thought to herself as her tail curled around her waist.

Soon, two people came out onto the ring and the girl watched intently as the battle begins. Her ears twitched throughout the battle, suddenly aware that someone was watching her. Azami looked around and saw that the man that claimed to be her '_brother'_ was staring at her intently.

Her eyes narrowed and a low snarl erupted from her throat. Before long, the Uchiha won the battle and Azami blinked when a second person appeared behind Sasuke, then both of them disappeared


End file.
